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Thu, August 11, 2022 | 16:57
[Exclusive] Korean Dropouts in US Head Home
Posted : 2010-03-03 19:01
Updated : 2010-03-03 19:01
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This is the third in a series of articles on the methods Korean students use to gain admission to universities in the United States.

By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

A growing number of Korean students studying in the United States are returning home to attend domestic colleges and universities.

Many "returnees" say they come back because of their failure to fully prepare for their new surroundings, including U.S. schools' academic programs.

They add that there are a lot more on the "waiting lists," biding their time before returning home. However, these days they are having a hard time getting back into the Korean school system.

This news comes at a time when a greater number of students are heading for U.S. schools with some of them being accepted thanks to falsified documents created by paid consultants.

The number of transfer applicants from overseas universities at Dongguk University in Seoul was 25 in 2006 and 30 in 2007, but the figure has more than doubled this year to 72.

One of the hopefuls said "I had a hard time to adapt to school life (in the U.S.) after I finished my army service and it was very stressful."

Konkuk University has also seen a steady rise in transfer numbers. This year, the school had more than 100 applicants from those who quit studying abroad, up from 72 in 2008, 50 in 2007 and 45 in 2006.

Korea University had a total of 174 applicants, but only 16 students gained admission.

The same trend was found at Yonsei University - 170 overseas transfer applicants in 2010 compared to 156 last year.

A student, a Hur, who studied at Ohio State University, said there were a huge number of Korean students trying to transfer to universities in their homeland, as she did.

Another student, Kwon, who was at Michigan State, said she decided to come back to Korea due to financial difficulties. "I spent $60,000 on yearly tuition and living costs there."

"I witnessed a lot of Korean students having difficulties in studying there as it is much easier to gain academic credits in Korea," she added.

Cho, who transferred from Pennsylvania State University to Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, also said he saw many Korean friends who were forced to return to Korea due to their poor academic achievements.

Sungkyunkwan admitted 38 returning students out of a total of 528 applicants, while Ewha Womans University accepted nine out of 307.

Another transfer student, Min, said "Korean employers prefer graduates from domestic universities to those from overseas schools, although my previous school is well-known there."

According to a paper in 2008 by Samuel S. Kim at Columbia University, 56 percent of Korean students at prestigious American universities gained degrees, while the rest gave up their studies halfway through.

The dropout rate was much higher than the 34 percent for American, 25 percent for Chinese and 21 percent for Indian students. Kim tracked 1,400 Korean students at 14 top American universities between 1985 and 2007 for the paper.

A counselor from a foreign school here said "Korean parents tend to push ahead with their children to gain admission at top American schools but this is not necessarily good for them."

"The best university is where their children can land well and gain academic accomplishments," he added.

"A lot of Korean students who chose overseas schools based on their reputation fail. Korean media need to report more on this dark side of studying abroad," said Kim Hyun-jin, an education professor at Kookmin University in Seoul.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr



`귀향’ 유학생 증가

엄격한 학사관리, 부적응, 비싼 등록금 등이 주요인

미국 대학으로 유학을 가는 한국학생들은 꾸준히 늘어나는 추세다. 교육과학기술부에 따르면 2005년 4만7천 여명이었던 미국 내 한국 유학생들은 1만명이 넘게 증가, 작년 한해 5만8천 여명에 이르렀다. 이중 2만5천 여명의 학생들이 학부과정에 등록되어 있다.

서울의 대학가에 따르면 이처럼 늘어나는 유학생수와 더불어 미 대학으로 진학은 했지만 공부를 포기하고 한국대학으로 편입하려는 학생들도 꾸준히 늘어나고 있다. 동국대학의 경우 2006년과 2007년 각각 25, 30명의 유학파 학생들이 편입 지원을 했지만 올해는 72명의 학생들이 유학을 포기하고 이 학교에 지원을 했다.
하지만 이들 중 단 2명만이 합격통지서를 받았다. 지원자 중 한명인 김모씨(30)는 "군대를 갔다 오고 적응을 잘 못해 스트레스를 많이 받았다" 며 "한국에서 잘 적응해 무사히 졸업했으면 한다" 고 말했다.

건국대 역시 5년 전 50명이 채 안되었던 해외파 편입 지원자수가 두 배 이상으로 크게 늘었다. 연세대의 경우도 작년 156명의 ‘귀향’ 학생들의 지원을 받았고 올해는 그 수가 170명으로 늘어났다.

미국 오하이오 대학에서 이 학교에 합격한 허 모씨는 본인 말고도 “외국에서 돌아오는 한국 학생들이 정말 많다”고 말했다.

미국 미시건에서 공부했던 권 모씨는 “학비만 4만불에다가 생활비까지 연간 6만불 이나 들었다” 며 경제적인 어려움 때문에 한국대학 편입을 결심하게 되었다고 말했다. 그는 또 “미국에서 적응하지 못하는 한국 학생들을 많이 봤다” 며 “한국대학에서는 학점을 따기가 훨씬 쉽다” 고 말했다.

펜실베니아 주에서 공부하다가 서울의 또 다른 사립대에 편입한 조 모씨(26) 역시 “성적이 나빠 부모가 돌아오라는 주위 친구들이 많았다” 고 말했다.

고려대는 올해 174명의 유학파 학생들이 편입을 지원해 16명이 합격했다. 이화여대는 총 307명의 편입 합격생 중 9명이 유학파 학생들이었다. 이번 학기에 학사 편입을 한 민 모씨는 “외국에서는 알아주는 대학이라도 한국에서는 잘 인정해주지 않는다” 며 편입동기를 설명했다.

2008년 컬럼비아대 사무엘 김 박사가 1985년부터 2007년까지 미국 명문대학에서 공부한 1,400명의 한인학생을 분석한 논문에 따르면 그 중 56%인 784명만 졸업을 하고 나머지는 그만둬 중퇴율이 44%에 달했다. 이는 인도 (21%), 중국 (25%), 미국(34%) 학생들의 중도 탈락율보다 확연히 높은 수치이다.

한 외국인 학교의 진학교사는 “한국 학부모들처럼 일단 미국 유명대학에 합격시키고 보자는 식으로는 성공할 수 없다” 며 “학생이 잘 적응해 학문적 성취감을 느낄 수 있는 곳이 자녀들에게 가장 좋은 대학” 이라고 충고했다.

김현진 국민대 교육학과 교수는 “많은 한국 유학생들이 섣불리 입학만 했다가 실패하는 경우가 굉장히 많다” 며 "언론에서 유학의 어두운 면을 적극적으로 알려줄 필요가 있다” 고 말했다.

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